Oxygen gas supply system



y 1933- J. E. ESHBAUGH OXYGEN GAS SUPPLY SYSTEM Filed April 11, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 1 xvi km; A

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f ly Patented July 11, 1933 JESSE E. ESHBAUG-H, FFLINT, MICHIGAN OXYGEN ens suPrLv'sYs'r i/I j Application filed April11,

This invention has reference. to improvements in oxygen gas supplysystems for aeronautical use. 1

Due to the rarity of the air at'high alti- 5. tudes it is necessary tosupply airplane pilots with oxygen for breathing purposes when they goabove a certain height whichmay vary somewhat with the individual. Theoxygen gas is stored andcarriedonthe planes in small steel cylinders ata predetermined pressure and the flow to the pilots is controlled bysome type of regulator. v

At'times, howeverpthe regulator fails to function 'or does not functionproperly. This liability of the instrument becoming inoperative maybedue to faulty equipment, aneroid failure, or to the small orifices inthe regulatorbecoming plugged with ice or dirt particles so that thenormal path of the gas through the system becomes obstructed and thepilot is thereby deprived of a suflicient supply of oxygen. I g

It is the ob 'ect of the present invention to relieve the pilot of thedanger and discom forts attending the failure of the regulator Figure 2is a similar view showing the path .of the fluid when the. normal flowis obstructed;

.Figure 3 is a front elevation of the emergency valve assembly formingpart of the invention;

Figure 4 is assembly; V

Figure 5 is a verticallongitudinal section on line 55 of Fig. 3, and

atop plan view of the valve 1931. Serial No. 529,527. g

7 Figure 6 is' a perspective view of the valve core. 1 v I V Brieflydescribed, the invention embodies an oxygensupply system wherein. adirect passage from the oxygen supply to thc'low M pressure tubingrunning to the mouthpiece or mask of the person using the oxygen isprovided through a by-pass and aby-pass valve the operation of which; inevent of failure of the regulator, will provide a positive flow of gasby piercing a'diaphragm through which the gas maypass; Theinvention isherein shown and described in application-to a Prouty oxygen regulatorbut is equally applicable to other types of regulators. e r i The oxygen'supply iscontained in an oxygen oylinder'l'and Whenthe cylinder valve2'is opened, it flows to the high pressure side of the Prouty' regulator8 through the high' pressure oxygen'tubing 4. The showing of the Proutyregulator is merely conventional the construction andoperation thereofis wvell understood in the art. From the opposite or-low pressure sideof the regulator,

the oxygenpasses into the supply; line or low pressure tubing '5 leadingto a mouth-' piece '6 or to the mask of the person using the oxygen. Dueto "the fact that,in all standard'types of oxygeniga s apparatus inpresent use,'no gas from thesupply cylinder passes into the mouthpiecetube except by way ofthe regulator, a failureon the partof the latterresults in the cutting ofl? ofthe necessary supply of oxygento thepilot. In the present invention, however, the mouthpiece tube isprovided with a bypass valve including a valve casing 7 having a taperedbore in which. is rotatably seated'a "close fitting correspondinglytapered valve'core 8 having at one end anoperating handle 9 and at itsother end being provided with a shank and confined between washersll and12 is a'valve. ten'sioning spring 13. The

fiat sided shank or stem 10. Encircling the and an outlet passage 16 towliich'are' con- 'nected upper and low'erisections a and 'b respectivelyof the mouthpiece tubing 5. Adjacent the inlet passage 15 andhorizontally offset with respect thereto is a vent passage which opensoutwardly to the atmosphere through the vent tube 17. Be-

Fig. 1. The inlet end of the central-passage way is enlarged. as shownat 20, and partially cut away on one side to provide a port 21 leadingto a cam groove or channel. 22 formed in one side of the core. On itsopposite side, the core is also groovedto provide an L-shaped channel orconduit 23. Disposed within the by-pass passage 18 ofthe valve casingwith its inner end protruding into the cam groove of the valve core is afreely movable plunger 24having a tapered or pointed outer end.

The by-pass passage 18 is reduced at its outer portion to provide ashoulder or seat 25 for a diaphragm 26 which is held to its seat by theinner end of a nipple 27 threadedly engaged within the outer portion ofthe passage and having attached thereto one end of a by-pass tube 28.'The other end of the tube 28 is suit-ably connected with the highpressure tubing 4. The. valve and tubing 28 constitute a by-pass and areintended in the event the normal path of the fluid through the systembecomes obstructed.

The operation of the improved. system is as follows: Figure 1 showsthepath of-the fluid through-the valve under normal operatingconditions. Should the flow of oxygen to the pilot become obstructedbecause of theimpairment or failure of the regulator,

' the valve core 8 is turned 90 clockwise to the position shown inFigure2, placing-the enlargement 2]. of the valve core passage 19in'registry with the by-pass passage 18 and the lowerterminal of thecamgroove in registry with the outlet opening 16 of the valve. As the coreis turned. the plunger 24 riding on cam 22 is moved outwardly againstthe diaphragm 26, and piercesthe latter to provide an opening throughwhich the fluid from the by-pass tubing is admitted directly into thevalve. passing by way of port 21 and cam groove-22 to the outlet 16 teamvalve and thence into the mouthpiece tube. 56. The pressure ofv thefluid acting against the forward end of the plunger is suflicient toforce the latter backwardly from the punctured diaphragm and intoseating engagement with the enlarged recess 20 when the latter isopposite the passage 18. Since the diameter of the plunger isconsiderably less than that of the passage 18, the fluid flows easilyaround the same and into the cam groove. At the same time, channel 23connects passage 15 with the vent passage 17 for the protection againstexcess pressure of that part of the system which is temporarily thrownout of use. Sincethe fluid which might otherwise accumulate in theregulator permitted to escape through the vent, the building up of adangerous or disastrous pressure .in the regulator isithereby prevented.The amount of fiuid which is obtained by means of the bypass valve isdetermined by the size of hole which is pierced in diaphragm 26, whichin most cases will give ample regulation. The diaphragm may betightlysealed so there will be no loss by leakage before it is use.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides anemergency safety device for altitude flights in the natureof a by-passand valve which in caseof failure of the regulator will provide apositive flow ofgas by piercing a diaphragm-through which the gas mayflow to the pilot or operator in need of the oxygen. The operation andapplication of the device is simple and efficient and variousmodifications thereof may be adopted within the scope of the appendedclaims. Iclaim: K. v.

1. Aby-passvalve comprising a valve-cas- 'ing having main inlet andoutlet passages, a

' 'by-pass inlet passage, and a vent passage, a tofunction as anauxiliary or safety device rotatable valve core having athrough passagenormally connecting the said main inlet and outlet passages, alay-passage for c onnecting the by-pass inlet passage with the mainoutlet passage and a vent conduit for connecting the main inlet, passagewith the said vent passage, a diaphragm closing the said by-pass inletpassage, a plunger in said by-pass inlet passage, and a cam on valvecore for moving said plunger against the diaphragm to puncture the same.I

n oxygen gas supply system including a source of oxygen supply, aflowsregulator connected with the said source of oxygen supply, adelivery tube connected with said flow-regulator, an auxiliary conduitdirectly LOO ing a normally closed vent and a normally opened valverelatively and operatively connected so that the closing of the valveopens the said vent, a normally closed emergency line connecting thesaid source with the said lator in communication with said source, a

delivery tube leading from said flow regulator, an auxiliary sealedconduit directly. connecting the sa1d source to the said delivery tubeand by-passing the said flow regulator, a mouth piece at the end of thetube,

cation between the mouth piece and the said flow regulator, means forbreaking the seal of the auxiliary conduit, said means being operativelyconnected Withthe valve to be actuated by the movement of the valve intoposition cutting oil communication between mouthpiece and low-regulator,and ventlng means for placing the flow regulator incommunication withthe atmosphere simultane-- ously with the cutting oif'of its communicaavalve in said tube for cutting 0a communi- 7 tion with the mouthpiece,said venting means being operatively associated with the sai valve foractuation thereby.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

' JESSE E. ESHBAUGHQ

